Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,176 entries, all of them here in full.
October 8, 2007 · 225 words
Fantasy— the Literature of Alienation?
So the other week I was at the Jemez Symposium with Steve Donaldson and Jane Lindskold, and our interlocutor asked, “So what is this ‘fantasy,’ exactly?” Or words to that effect.I came up with a rather boiletplate answer, that while SF’s contract with the reader was “What you’re about to read is possible (however unlik
Read entry →October 5, 2007 · 718 words
Heaven and Earth
I’ll be offline for a few days, so I thought I’d entertain y’all with another flashback video review, dating from February of 1994.Tonight’s Hong Kong Klassic was “Royal Tramp I.” (Though I couldn’t read theChinese on the back of the video cassette, the fact that there was a sequelreassured me that the first one was [&
Read entry →October 4, 2007 · 1,188 words
Jemez
The Symposium in the Jemez was most enjoyable. We got two nights at a guest house, free meals, and free trips to the hot springs in exchange for a couple hours’ pleasant conversation in front of an audience. Let’s just say that we didn’t hate it. The Jemez Mountains (pronounced HAY-mez) are named after the […]
Read entry →October 4, 2007 · 1,114 words
Pink Force
It’s been a busy week, and I’ve been too occupied to post much here. So instead I offer this flashback from June of 1994, from the online diary I was keeping at that time. My apologies for the weird formatting. The system doesn’t seem to want to let me correct it. Pink Force Commando was […]
Read entry →September 28, 2007 · 204 words
What’s Not to Like?
An excellent Albuquerque Greek restaurant, Yanni’s, has a frequent special, Parmesan-crusted fillet of sole. I’m quite fond of this dish, and as wild-caught Dover sole, or a reasonable facsimile, shows up at my local supermarket, I’ve been trying to re-create it. I failed totally, but I came up with something I like al
Read entry →September 27, 2007 · 804 words
Goddam NaziCops!
So I’ve still got my cold, right? After 12 days, I’ve still got my cold, but then we’ve already established that my immune system is fucked.I’ve been taking TheraFlu, which is this mixture of a decongestant and analgesic in a packet, and you pour this packet in boiling water and you drink it like tea. […]
Read entry →September 26, 2007 · 744 words
Music, Ho Ho
So . . . Saturday night I was at the Globalquerque festival, on my way to hear Yungchen Lhamo again, and I passed by the open air pavilion, and there was Puerto Plata and his band. And the music was so good that I couldn’t pull myself away.Puerto Plata’s real name is Jose. He renamed […]
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